The Boston Celtics polished their roster by bringing in a slew of new faces, including some renowned names, but there is still room for several other players to shine.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla already has his go-to crew in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, then Al Horford, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday who can easily start. From there, it’s up for grabs for the reserve unit members to make names for themselves.
The departure of Marcus Smart, Grant Williams, Robert Williams III and Malcolm Brogdon left various (and valuable) voids to be filled. Whether it’d be the defensive identity Boston hopes to re-establish, or the elite outside shooting that helped the C’s rack up blow-out victories, there are plenty of chances in place for nearly any roster member to take a leap forward.
With that being said, here are the four Celtics players with the biggest opportunity awaiting them on Opening Night come Oct. 25:
Pritchard, Payton
Payton Pritchard’s season last year was anything but smooth.
The tenacious small guard has built a career out of defying the odds, despite his 6-foot-1 frame. But that didn’t preclude Pritchard from filling a role as an outside shooting supplier off the bench in his early career.
That progression, however, was halted when Boston deployed the premium trio of Smart, White, and Brogdon ahead of Pritchard, leaving the Oregon product scrambling for minutes throughout the season.
Sam Hauser
Getting a chance to fill an outside sharpshooter role in place of former Celtics forward Danilo Gallinari, third-year veteran Sam Hauser fizzled out after having a red-hot touch.
Hauser shot 50% from the field and 46.2% from 3-point range while averaging 8.3 points in the month of November, showing promising potential. But those numbers dipped down and didn’t recover until Hauser averaged nine points in February, wrapping up an inconsistent campaign that came with inconsistent ineffective time off the bench in the playoffs.
Oshae Brissett
Playing for the Indiana Pacers last season, Oshae Brissett never got the experience of playing for a legitimate NBA Finals contender.
That all changed when Brissett inked a two-year deal with the Celtics in free agency, well aware that Boston brought him aboard to fill a selfless role off the bench.
“I felt a sense of excitement on their end and, to me, that’s very refreshing,” Brissett said. “Hearing a winning team excited that I’m available to be a potential Celtic, I just felt they were very authentic with what they were saying and, for me, that goes a long way. … They made it very clear: we don’t need star players, we have star players. We want guys like you who can come in and make a quick change or add what we feel like we’re missing.”
Mr. Jordan Walsh
Jordan Walsh’s most valued asset in college fits in well with one of Boston’s most pressing needs: defense.
Walsh’s defensive effort was praised after the Celtics selected him 38th overall in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft. Walsh’s head coach at Arkansas, Eric Musselman, even called him a “violent defender.”
Walsh, who is 6-foot-7, was a star performer for Boston during its five-game Summer League run in Las Vegas. He led the squad with 16 points per game on 42.2% shooting from the field, along with 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
